As a nation, we are increasingly riven by massive issues on which we seem to achieve no closure. Reservation for the Other Backward Classes; allotment of farm land for the creation of Special Economic Zones; setting up of large dams displacing millions of people; selling away the government stake in profit-making public sector units; turning over State-owned schools to private corporations; opening a circuit bench of a High Court in another part of the State…

These are mammoth issues which affect our lives and futures in a manner in which we can barely fathom, caught up as we are in the here and now. Yet all of these momentous decisions are left in the hands of politicians and bureaucrats who can barely look beyond the nearest ballot box and the next posting. And “We, the People”, in whose names these are made, are left watching the action from the sidelines; wondering about the motives and motivations.

Questions: Do we need to introduce referendums as a means of achieving greater public participation in the decision making process? At least so that there is a stamp of legitimacy on the actions taken? Should they be held only at the national level or at the State level, too? What kind of issues should referendums be held on? How many during the course of a legislature session? Or, is it just too expensive, too time-consuming, too intrusive, and therefore all too pointless?

5 comments

I think for a country like ours, referendum will prolong the process and will never bring an end to any issue. We have a active supreme court and they have till date been consistent in their judgement(s).

I dont agree to your statement of the babus and their sarkars being so very oblivious of the pulse of the people, everyone knows where the raja of manda went to get his cancer treated isnt it????

In India voting is mostly a group exercise. This works out in electing candidates. Candidates’ tenure expires every 5 years. Policies are subject to party politics, which is made up of candidates representing different groups. Thus there is scope for balance.

But group voting on issues is dangerous. The issues are not recallable. And the issue is now subject only to numbers. Democracy is also about ‘protecting the minority from the tyranny of the majority’.

For referendums to be truly effective, a certain amount of information and knowledge about the issue concerned is needed. At any reasonable level this cannot be achieved. Referendum will also end up giving up more power to people in control of information, media and reach. Essentially, the perspectives riding the better-oiled propaganda machinery will get more visibility. Say Cauvery. If there were a referendum in the concerned region, given the way ‘national’ media, protecting their interests, has looked at KA’s case we will get trounced. TN media has reach in KA. But the reverse is not true.

An alternative to that is transparency in decision-making. Say there is an issue; all the documents regarding that issue should be made public domain. And then they ought to feedback through media, seminars and so on.

These are very important matters which cannot be decided by a yes/no vote. To do so would only split the country further with violence being resorted to on a nationwide level.

Besides, Constitutional Government is meant to recognize the 49% who vote against it in the elections as well. A referendum could be resorted to when the Constitution provides us no guidance, but that cannot be said of the present dispute.

Even if the country votes in favour of ‘OBC reservations’, the SC’s recent decision cannot be overturned because the stay has been granted on the ground that the term ‘OBC’ has not been properly demarcated by Parliament. Parliament in India only gets its legitimacy from the Constitution and cannot do anything and everything it pleases including pass judgment or ‘create’ facts.

Indian Constitution does not provide for referendum. So it will remain a wishful thinking. When factually, first past post being a winner in the hustings, there is an urgent need to make excise of adult franchise mandatory to start with.